The Glory of Handloading

By Keith Wood, Contributing Writer

It was getting late in the mid-January afternoon and buck tags filled in years past told me the rut was in full swing in southeast Alabama. When the magic hour hit, a doe emerged from the far tree line as if shooed out on cue by nature's stagehand. By the way she was acting, I knew that a buck wouldn't be far behind. Even at 300 yards, I didn't need to raise my binocular to know he was a shooter. He was a trophy, not due to inches of horn, but because he was a wise, habitually nocturnal old warrior who was only showing his face because biology demanded it.

It wasn't a short shot, but I knew the rifle and I knew the load. I'd carefully chosen the bullet, the brass, the primer and the powder. I'd experimented with all four and found the best balance of accuracy and velocity before painstakingly assembling the cartridge in a small batch at my bench. Even before I pressed the trigger, I knew the outcome.

I'd learned to handload rifle and handgun cartridges when I was in high school. I quickly determined that I could feed my pistol-shooting habit far more prosperously on my dime store paycheck by scrounging brass and loading my own. A few years later I started hunting big game and became mildly obsessed with rifle accuracy and bullet performance—it was with one of my own handloads that I took my first whitetail and many since.

Unless you've just been roused from a five-year nap, you are undoubtedly aware that centerfire ammunition has increased in both price and scarcity. A box of premium .300 Winchester Magnum ammo runs nearly $50 for 20 rounds but at least you can probably find it on store shelves. But what if you're going varmint hunting and are looking for a case of .223? Good luck with that.

Though handloading definitely saves dollars, it's not the only reason you should consider it. The ability to have a sustainable supply of ammunition through marketplace shortages like the one we've witnessed lately is another good reason; a modest supply of powder and primers and the ability to cast one's own bullets can keep you shooting through the lean times. Handloads can also help maximize the accuracy potential of your firearm by allowing you to assemble component combinations or cartridge dimensions that are unavailable via mass production. Though today's factory ammunition offers the best and most diverse lineup that hunters and shooters have ever seen, there's still a limit to what you can buy off the shelf.

Best of all, for me, is the satisfaction of having done it myself. When I put venison on my family's table, knowing I shot it with a rifle that I assembled, using a cartridge that I loaded by hand, over a field that I planted, I can't help but feel good. And it's hard to put a price on that.

Teal Trackin' Tips

Hunting teal in the Southern United States in September dictates warm-weather gear. Hip waders are a good first choice. However, if deeper water surrounds your honey hole a pair of lightweight breathable chest waders, made of nylon rather than neoprene, are the smart option for keeping dry and cool. Add a lightweight long-sleeve shirt and hat to block the sun and you're good to go.

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Like the fossilized skeletons of its ancestors displayed in the Smithsonian, a 12-foot alligator can be scary even when it's dead—something that Shooting Illustrated's Adam Heggenstaller learned in person during a gator hunt in Florida. Read More »

Could 2011 be the year of the work truck? If so, the Ram Tradesman is ready to clock in. Equipped with a juiced-up HEMI® engine.... Read More »

18 years

Average age black bears live to in the wild

15-80 square miles

Range of a male black bear within a loosely defined home range, depending on habitat

35 mph

Speed a black bear can run for short distances

26 years

Oldest documented wild bear killed in Virginia

880 pounds

Largest known black bear ever killed by a hunter (North Carolina)

fast fact

The cackling goose, a smaller-bodied goose prominent in Canada and Alaska, is a tundra-breeder with considerably more black plumage than the Canada. At one time, the cackling goose was considered the smallest subspecies of the Canada, but is now recognized as a separate species.